Today I’ve got another easy finger picking pattern for you and your guitar. I used a very simple and mellow chord progression in this lesson, and there are literally tons of different directions you could go with it.

I tried to give you a couple of different ideas on how you can change up the progression, but I really encourage you to get creative with this one and go nuts on it.

Start with the E Minor Diatonic scale (or G Major -- same difference) as that gives you the root notes you can use from the key of G. Basically any of the notes in those scales on the lowest three strings will qualify.

Keep your drone notes the same all the time -- the open G (3rd string) and the D on the 2nd string. These two notes are the I and V of the key of G, a perfect fifth, and therefore go well with every other note in that scale, which is the reason why its easy to be creative with this one.

In addition to mixing up the root notes, try mixing up your picking pattern once you get the hang of the one I showed you in here. Try alternating different strings, or use the two strings at a time method I showed in the video.

Above all, have fun with it!

I know there’s a fair amount of interest in different guitar finger picking techniques -- and truthfully I’m sure you could do an entire course just on finger picking -- so I decided to do a little lesson on one of the picking techniques that I like to use.

I like finger picking with this style because it gives a very rhythmic, mellow sound that fits my mood perfectly when I just wanna relax or cool off. Works great with minor chords, as you’ll see here, but feel free to try this guitar finger picking technique with anything that strikes your fancy.

Start using this 2 finger picking technique with the Am7, Dm7 and Em7 chords that I show you here, because you can get used to picking the root note plus the 2nd and 3rd strings. Once you’re familiar with that, try it with some other chords and start moving the string that your root note is on.

Here’s a lesson on finger exercises for guitar. As a guitar player, you are forever strengthening your fingers, not to mention practicing your scales! So, why not do both at the same time?

To be honest, while I was recording this lesson I could feel it in my own fingers… proof positive that these exercises will work you over and build up that strength and dexterity!

Another way to use these finger exercises is to spice up your practice times. Work on going up and down the scale, then working up and down in increments like I describe on the video.

Doing this forces your fingers to become more familiar with each note and the notes around it, and gets you used to quickly changing directions mid-scale.

I used my electric guitar on this lesson, but these finger exercises are just as good on the acoustic guitar. You’ll just have to work a little harder to accomplish the same thing =).

Stroke my ego… leave a comment below the video and tell me how much your fingers hurt after doing these exercises =)

I recently ran a poll here on GuitarTipsWeekly.com asking you guys what you wanted to learn most on the guitar. Guitar picking came in a dead tie with Strumming (both at 26%) and seeing as I’ve already done a lesson on strumming, I figured it was time to even the score and get one in on picking too.

Nothing special going on here -- basically this just takes a bit of coordination and PRACTICE.

If you really want to learn guitar picking, and it certainly is a cool skill to have, you have to sit there and practice. I can remember going over these patterns for hours when I started, working hard to get every single note nice and clear. If you’re still working on getting your chords sounding good, this can be a great way to practice getting a clear sound out of each string.

Start with the first pattern I show you in the lesson, basically picking your root note of the chord, then the top three strings in order ( 3 -- 2 -- 1). So for the G chord you’d pick the strings in this order: 6 -- 3 -- 2 -- 1.

The root of the C chord is on the 5th string, so you’d pick that chord in this order: 5 -- 3 -- 2 -- 1.

The root of the D chord is on the 4th string, so you’d pick that chord in this order: 4 -- 3 -- 2 -- 1.

You get the picture. Watch the lesson, and if you have any questions, leave a comment below the video.